In January, during his re-arraignment, the former CBN governor refuted the accusations.
photo of former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
A prosecution witness at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama recounted how former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, currently facing trial for fraud and corruption charges, allegedly awarded 45 contracts totaling billions of naira to family members and associates, including his wife, Margaret Emefiele. The witness, Agboro Michael, an investigator with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), identified April 1616 Investment Limited, owned by Sa’adatu Ramalan Yero, a CBN employee and Emefiele’s associate, as one of the beneficiaries of these contracts. The other beneficiary was Architekon Nigeria Limited, owned by Emefiele’s wife, Margaret Emefiele, with one of Margaret’s brothers also benefiting from some contracts.
Michael informed the court that these companies were awarded contracts to supply Toyota vehicles, despite lacking accreditation by Toyota. He highlighted the involvement of family members and associates in the companies’ directorship, indicating potential conflicts of interest.
The witness explained that an inter-agency investigation involving the ICPC, EFCC, Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), and the State Security Service (SSS) revealed that these contracts were awarded by Emefiele to confer corrupt advantages on the beneficiaries.
Emefiele, who served as CBN governor for nearly a decade, faces corruption charges following his removal from office by President Bola Tinubu last June. The charges against him include conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, forgery, and obtaining by false pretense to the tune of $6.23 million.
During his re-arraignment in January, Emefiele denied the charges. In the continuation of the hearing on Monday, Michael provided evidence under the direction of Rotimi Oyedepo, the prosecuting counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
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